Dorm Room Goldfish

[DormFishKeeper]

I have a goldfish that lives in a bowl by itself now. It's friend died. It was another goldfish that was black and white. Now my fish is starting to get little white bumps on it. Even though it may be hard to see where the light reflects off his skin you can see the specks of his skin that seem to be shedding.

I change all the water once a week along with cleaning the rocks once a week. I guess this is also another basic queston thread, but how often do I feed him to keep the tank clean and him full? Am I cleaning to often? Should I be doing 20% of the water once a week instead of it all? And do it all once a month? It's a ~1 gallon bowl.

 

[mark.w.jones]

That look more like a platy to me than a goldfish.

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showto...09&hl=platy

If so it's tropical. And a 1 gallon is not really even close to big enough for keeping fish in I'm afraid.

 

[mommyof2bettas]

That's a platy looks like a male but it could be a female with clear fins, the pic is a bit blurry. That bowl is too small for a goldfish and a platy. Are you adding anything to the water to make it safe? Is the tank cycled?You could move him to a 10gallon and add a couple of females. (that is if you want them to breed) But first you gotta get that disease cured. Sorry if this didn't help but the picture is a bit blurry. I haven't seen ich on my fish before but I think that's it.

 

[WILDER]

I agree its a platy and it needs a bigger tank, heater, and filter.
Is there any fluffy bits on the fish.

 

[starrynightxxi]

yeah, that's a platy not a goldfish. and it needs a larger tank, a heater, and a filter (both to keep the water clean and to keep it aerated). More information on Platies can be found here Fish Index - Platy. The white bumps are probably Ich (Ick/Whitespot) which is not difficult to treat generally but it will be very easy to overdose and kill your fish in so little water. Links for Ich General Info, Treatment. To be completely honest, unless you get that animal in a proper tank it's chances are not good even if you are successful in treating the Ich

Also, please do not go out and get and actually goldfish as they do not belong in bowls either. They get very large and there's a ten to twenty gallon minimum per fish with goldfish.

 

[Tessla]

That actually looks like a platy, not a goldfish, and the only thing really suited to a 1 gallon bowl would be a betta. Goldfish need at least 20-30 gallons for the first fish and ten gallons for each additional fish, I personally wouldn't keep them in anything smaller than a 55 gallon aquarium.

Platys can be kept in small aquaruims, but I doubt you'd have room for a ten gallon in a dorm, perhaps a five gallon? Try for the biggest you can fit if you want him to recover. They need warm water, 70-75F and some form of filtration to keep the water clean so that you can do partial water changes (10-20%) once a week. Your current bowl and maintenence would probably do fine for a betta if your dorm stays fairly warm, sanitize absolutly everything in there before you put anything else in though.

Are you adding any dechlorinator to your water before you change it? If not you'll want to go get yourself some, many will also provide a "stress coat" to help weak and sick fish out.

He looks like he may have a fungus or ich, but chances are it's been brought on by poor water quality. If you can get him set up comfortably in a larger tank with proper filtration and heating, he may recover with a bit of medication. Don't add anything else until he's better!

 

[mommyof2bettas]

Your current bowl and maintenence would probably do fine for a betta

actually, a betta might jump if the bowl has no lid and it's better to keep them in a 2.5gallon if you can.

 

[DormFishKeeper]

two videos:
http/66.7.202.77/~padespla/Video%202.avi
http/66.7.202.77/~padespla/Video%203.avi

here are some more photos for you guys. This is what my local shop said was best. After reading your posts it seems like he needs a bigger habitat. Filter and a heater. I've been on petsmart trying to find one and came along these. Which do you think would work best for my fish.

Tank 1
Tank 2
Tank 3
Tank 4
Tank 5
Tank 6

Any of those tanks look good?

Thank you very much for the fast and useful help.

 

[mommyof2bettas]

This is according to me (keep in mind, platys are good in groups, taking a better look, yours is a female.You could put her with more females or if you'd like to breed her 1 male and another female)
Tank1-could be better
tank2-could be better
Tank3-really bad
Tank4-ok, could be better
tank5-really good
this is probably a pregnant platy, they can store sperm so the10 gallon(tank5) would be a really good choice.

EDIT: don't put any fish with her yet as she is still sick!

 

[Tessla]

I'd definitely go with tank #5, it's a decent size for a group of platys and it will also give you a bit of room for other fish and decorations eventually.

Sounds like you can't trust your local shop for advice at all, especially if they sold you a platy as a goldfish and sent you off with a bowl to boot. Once your platy is well and you want to add more fish, make sure that you research any other fish that will go in the tank. Lots of fish need to be kept in groups, get too big or become violent and must be kept alone... most fish sold in the shops are juveniles so be very careful!

 

[DormFishKeeper]

I know this may be rude of me, but are there any tutorials or steps to "setting" up this tank for the optimum use and life for my fish. Like I've seen you guys discuess cycling what are my basic steps to setting up a tank with time periods and I can google for details if that helps.

 

[wayne84]

good to see you going out looking for a new tank to help your fish i also say number 5 good luck with the fish and once the fish as been treated im sure it will be happy with a few new tank mates and alot better to watch

 

[DormFishKeeper]

does it matter that tank 5 doesnt have a heater?

 

[n3ont3tra]

Step one... buy tank
Step two... put in any decorations or gravel and fill it with water
Step three... put a filter in
Step four... put a heater in
step five... cycle the tank (buy a test kit)
step six... add fish
Obviously you already have a fish... it would be best if you could tank the fish back to the store and buy a filter, then read the thread on fishless cycling. It keeps stress off the fish and it's not hard at all. If you can't take him back, get as big of a tank as possible, and a filter. Change the tank water as often as possible, but not all of it. I would suggest 20% every other day. After about 3 weeks you can cut back a bit, to 20% once a week. That's because all of the beneficial bacteria will have developed. Then you're fish should do okay. Any questions, just ask. Also, it's good that you're trying to take care of your fish properl by researching them

EDIT: To answer your question, you'd just have to buy a heater separately.

 

[t.ropical_m.istx3]

guys remember, this is a dorm room fish. space could be limited .